1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicle detrainment apparatus (emergency staircase) that is provided in a passenger train and used in an emergency case so that the passengers can descend from the train or ascend thereto, through the staircase with a plurality of footsteps
2. Description of the Related Art
A passenger train that runs on a guideway is provided with an emergency exit for making the passengers escape from the train and an emergency footstep device for making the passengers descend to the guideway through the emergency exit for an emergency. The guideway to which the passengers descend is so bumpy that the passengers have a difficulty in walking stably on the guideway; and the emergency situation itself makes the passengers feel insecure; accordingly, it is requested that the emergency footstep device can make the passenger quickly escape, without anxiety.
In recent years, what is called a new transportation system as a medium-capacity transit system has become commonplace whereby a rubber tired passenger train runs on an exclusive guideway; in the new transportation system, the train is usually operated automatically without the assistance of an attendant, in the great majority of cases; in a particular case as an example, the train has the guide wheels that are guided by the guideway.
The emergency footstep device adopted for the new transportation system is provided with a plurality of step forming members whereby each adjacent pair of the step forming members can slide on each other; the emergency footstep device is configured so that the step forming members are laid down toward the outside of the train from the inside thereof. Further, the emergency footstep device is provided with a pair of slide guide pipes that guide the step forming members to slide, the slide guide pipes being placed on both sides of the emergency footstep device; thereby, the space housing the slide guide pipes is required; accordingly, the width of each step forming member has to be limited; thus, the number of the footsteps is limited to at most three. As a result, a steep slope angle such as around sixty degrees against the guideway surface has to be introduced.
On the other hand, the emergency footstep device adopted for the railcars and the like is housed below the coach floor; a person in charge draws the device toward outside and hangs the device on the coach body in case of emergency; till then, the passengers cannot escape from the coach.
In the patent reference 1 (JP2001-315640), an emergency ladder device is disclosed; thereby, the device is housed below the coach floor, and the ladder can be drawn so as to slide in the direction parallel to the rail ties; after the ladder has drawn outside, it is rotated around a rotation axis therein, and an outer end of the ladder is landed to the running surface so that the ladder is placed at a predetermined angle with respect to the ground surface; then, the ladder is pushed against the coach so that the ladder is locked with the predetermined angle.
In the patent reference 2 (JP1999-321643), an emergency escape device for railcars is disclosed; thereby, the device is provided with an air-filled escape shoot that expands by means of the ejected air; in normal times, the air is exhausted from the shoot, and the shoot is folded up. In an emergency, the door of the coach is opened, the shoot is thrown outside, and the shoot is filled with air so that the passenger can slide down on the shoot.
In the above-described emergency footstep device adopted for the new transportation system, a steep slope angle such as around sixty degrees against the running surface has to be introduced, whereas the escaping passengers have to descend from the coach floor that is located more than 1.0 m above the running surface; thus, the passengers have a difficulty in watching the steps below, unless the passengers lean forward. Therefore, the passengers feel anxious; in particular, the elderly passengers, women, or children are frightened so that a smooth evacuation may be hindered.
Moreover, the step-to-step distance is long because of the small number of the steps, while the width of the footsteps is narrow; and, the emergency footstep device is not provided with a railing (a handrail); in this way, the emergency footstep device adopted for the new transportation system also have the problems as described above. Further, in the footstep device, the longitudinal length of the slide guide pipes that guide the step forming members to slide cannot be increased from a structural point of view: the longer the pipes the larger the diameter; the larger diameter brings the narrower width of the footsteps. In addition, since the slide guide pipes are supported with ricketiness due to somewhat larger clearances around the pipes, the footstep device is bent downward when the passengers tread on the footsteps; thus, the passengers feel more anxious.
The emergency ladder device that are adopted for usual railcars cannot be manipulated inside the coach as is the case in the patent reference 1; thus, the passengers cannot escape from the coach until a person in charge accesses the device, draws the device toward outside, and hangs the device on the coach body. In this way, the passengers have to be kept waiting in the feelings of anxiety.
Further, another problem accompanies the ladder device of the patent reference 1; namely, complicated handling steps (procedures) are required: dismantling the cover of the device, drawing the heavy ladder in the lateral direction, rotating the ladder, and leaning the ladder against the coach body.
Furthermore, other problems accompany the air-filled escape shoot of the patent reference 2; firstly, air-filling time is required; secondly, the shoot is too short for the passengers to stretch themselves on the shoot; thus, as soon as the passengers start shooting, their feet reach the ground with a shock through which the passengers may sprain their ankle.